- Gold climbs 0.54% and reaches a two-week high of $2,378.
- Higher-than-expected US jobless claims weaken US Dollar and stabilize Treasury yields.
- Traders focus on upcoming Nonfarm Payrolls; forecasts suggest 185,000 new jobs with a 3.9% Unemployment Rate.
Gold hit a two-week high of $2,378 on Thursday after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced weaker-than-expected jobs data that kept US Treasury bond yields virtually unchanged, a tailwind for the golden metal. The XAU/USD trades at $2,369, registering a gain of 0.54% after bouncing off weekly lows of $2,320.
US jobs data was one of the main drivers of the day after the BLS revealed that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits exceeded the consensus and the previous week's reading. In addition, the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to cut interest rates, which sent US Treasury yields climbing before paring its earlier gains.
The US 10-year benchmark is set to print weekly losses yet retreated from a daily high of 4.32% to 4.285% following the ECB’s decision. In the meantime, the US Dollar Index, which measures the Greenback’s performance against a basket of six currencies, dropped 0.12% to 104.14.
Following the latest US employment data, traders' focus shifts to Friday's May Nonfarm Payrolls report. Estimates suggest the economy will add 185,000 people to the workforce, above April’s 175,000. The Unemployment Rate is expected to be 3.9%, and Average Hourly Earnings are projected to remain unchanged at 3.9%.
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